A common bearing arrangement for a vehicle wheel consists of an outer component provided with a bore within which an inner axle component is journalled, supported on a bearing. Depending on whether the wheel is freewheeling or driven, either the outer or the axle component, respectively, is connected with the vehicle wheel for rotation. Relative support for the rotating component is obtained with the help of either several roller bearings, e.g., as shown in German Utility Model No. 33,830 or U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,000, or a single multiple-row roller bearing, e.g., as shown in German Published Patent Application No. 1,915,932 or German Public Disclosure No. 1,902,942. Inasmuch as the wheel bearing can be smaller when a single multiple-row roller bearing is employed, especially for driven vehicle wheels, such multiple-row roller bearings are increasingly preferred.
Bearing-protecting packing devices customarily used in known bearing arrangements are comparatively costly. For example, expensive labyrinth packings are used, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,000 or German Utility Model No. 33,830, for example, which apply themselves against the axle as well as the frame component. It is evident that these labyrinth packings, which preferably are fabricated of elastomer material, are subject to wear and tear and must be occasionally changed. Moreover, a certain degree of accuracy in dimensioning is required so as to ensure faultless seating of the packing.
In the known bearing arrangement for a driven vehicle wheel disclosed in German Published Patent Application No. 1,915,932, the packing for protecting the roller bearing is similarly applied to the outer as well as the axle component. Further, this type of packing is required to be in very close contact with both the outer and axle components in order to safely prevent even the slightest soiling of the roller bearing, because it is designed as a throw-away unit and the bearing itself cannot be changed. The usability of the bearing arrangement is dependent both upon the accuracy of manufacture and the resistance of the packing to wear.